More anti-wolf actions

February 15, 2010



Hon. Barry Penner
Minister of Environment



Dear Minister:



"The caribou feeds the wolf, but it is the wolf who keeps the caribou strong"

Inuit Proverb



For many centuries, the wolf, caribou, and Inuit lived in harmony. The caribou provided sustenance to both the wolf and Inuit people. The wolf kept the caribou strong by killing the weak, old, injured and caribou calves, thereby eliminating the weak caribou, reducing disease to the herd and allowing the caribou herd to flourish. The Inuit people who depended on the caribou watched this interaction for centuries and kept it in balance.



What has gone so terribly wrong?



Why has the caribou in BC been so decimated that it ended up on the endangered species list?



Do not look to canis lupus as the problem because the wolf kept the caribou strong for centuries. Michael Bloomington, head of Alberta's Caribou Management Plan from 1978-83 stated, "the wolf is being made to pay the price for what is really the consequence of human activity in the area."



This human activity in BC which has caused the mountain caribou herds to be placed on the endangered species list is:

• Extensive logging of old growth forests which the mountain caribou depend on


• Disruption and fragmentation of the mountain caribou habitat by logging, mining and other resource extraction


• Disruption of the winter mountain caribou environment by heli-skiing and snowmobiling


• Human caused over hunting of the mountain caribou

These human activities cause many more mountain caribou deaths than any predation by wolves.

Your ministry along with all British Columbians must be better stewards of the environment because the environment and the wildlife belong to all British Columbians, not the Ministry of Environment. You are just the Trustee!

Many wolf biologists in their studies have concluded that wildlife managers must carefully and continuously monitor prey populations so that wolf predation is not additive but merely compensatory.

The Ministry's proposed wolf cull is yet another response by the anti-wolf faction in your ministry and the contractors you employ. Stephen F. Wilson's report "Recommendations for Predator-Prey Management to benefit Mountain Caribou Recovery" is an example of the anti-wolf bias.

There is no evidence in his report or the reports of the Mountain Caribou Recovery Team that wolves are heavily preying on mountain caribou calves. Evidence would include conclusive evidence of wolf kills of caribou calves and caribou found in wolf scats.

Wilson relies on the vague statement of Bergerud that wolf predation is considered the major factor limiting the growth of caribou populations in North America.

L. David Mech and Rolf O. Peterson dispute Bergerud's analysis. They state, "while Bergerud's analysis provides evidence that predation by both wolves and bears can be strongly limiting, his claim that wolf predation is generally regulatory is based more on reasoning that on actual evidence." (Mech & Peterson 2003)

Wilson admits in his report that grizzly and black bears are major predators on mountain caribou calves but due to public pressure on conserving grizzly bears and reductions of bear populations would have to be large because it is difficult to identify and remove problem bears. No where in his report does Wilson admit that removing problem wolves would be difficult or against public perception. No he justs recommends removing whole packs!

In fact studies have shown that grizzly and black bears can be a very high source of ungulate calf death (91%) (Ballard 1979 & 81)

Ministry of Environment again recommends further wolf control even though many prominent wolf biologists (Mech, Haber, Theberge) state that wolf control programs do not work. Mech and Peterson (2003) state, "during the 1980's & 1990's there were extensive efforts, primarily through wolf control in Alaska and Yukon, to induce prey populations to increase to a high stable equilibrium, but none was successful."

Wilson states in his report that Mountain Caribou Science Team and MOE biologists consulted in the drafting of the report strongly recommended that wolves targeted for removal should be shot from helicopters.

Are your staff not aware of Section 27(2) of the Wildlife Act (BC) which states, (2) A person commits an offence if the person (a) hunts wildlife from an aircraft?

The Minister does not have the authority to authorize predator control programs by shooting from aircraft including helicopters because this activity is regulated by the Federal Government. Is the Minister aware of the Canadian Aviation Security Regulations?

The Canadian Aviation Security Regulations prohibit any carrying of loaded firearms or shooting from an aircraft. Under subsection 27(1) there is a provision to allow a federal or provincial department or agency that is engaged in wildlife control to have an unloaded firearm on the plane. Transport Canada officials have assured me that no firearms can be loaded on an aircraft nor can any shooting from an aircraft occur.

Can the Minister assure me that no hunting of wolves by ministry staff, or staff contracted by the ministry or any other sanctioned wolf control activities by the ministry, is being conducted or considered from helicopters or any other aircraft?

In the Caribou Progress Report of April 29,2008 it states that there has been extensive radio-collaring of wolves. 22 packs or 70% of wolves between Williams Lake and Revelstoke are now collared. MOE staff in the past have used these radio collars to locate wolf dens and have killed the pups and adult wolves. This is by way of their own admission that I obtained this info. Can the Minister assure me that these radio-collared wolves are being studied for research purposes and not a means for wolf control?

This same report stated that 6 male wolves and 6 female wolves have been sterilized in the Quesnel Highlands. Is this unethical practice of sterilization of wolves continuing? Who is performing this sterilization?

How many wolves have been killed in BC as a direct result of managing the Mountain Caribou Recovery?

There is a fundamental principle of human justice which is equal treatment for all under the law. As a society we have advanced minority rights, women's rights, and rights of oppressed religious groups to have equal treatment under the law. I submit that this same principle applies to how we treat wildlife. Under your ministry care, wolves have always experienced unequal treatment as compared to other species. The MOE has promoted bounties on wolves, poisoning of wolves, and recently harsh wolf culls like the 1980's Muskawa/Kechika wolf slaughter. This harsh, unequal treatment continues under the guise of predator control to augment the mountain caribou herds.

Wolf control is always the default position of the MOE. There has to be a paradigm shift from this thinking to wolf control as the very last measure after extensive research and consultation by a panel of prominent wolf biologists.

I ask the Minister to give canis lupus in BC the treatment it deserves as stated by L. David Mech, "I hope I can help other people to see the wolf for what it is: one more magnificent species, superbly adapted to contend with its harsh environment, and highly deserving of our understanding and acceptance."

I look forward to your response.

Sincerely,

Gary R. Allan, JD

Wolf Tracking

This animal is one of the most elusive animals to locate in the wilderness. Many wolf biologists have spent many years in the wilderness & have seen very few wolves. I have spoken to many loggers, naturalists & woodsmen who have either not seen any or seen very few.

Doug Smith, Yellowstone Wolf Project leader stated, "I worked on wolves for 13 years in Isle Royale National Park, hiking 500 miles each summer & if I saw one wolf it was an accomplishment. Now, Doug works in Yellowstone National Park where wolves are observed on a daily basis by biologists & visitors alike.

Winter is the best season to track wolves because of the snow. Even radio collared wolves are more easily detected in the winter from aircraft then in the summer. The Algonquin wolf study in Ontario found that 80% of their radio telemetry recordings occured in the winter.

Wolf tracks that are observed in the snow by experienced aerial trackers are then relayed to wolf biologists to track on the ground. They are attempting to locate wolf kills, scat, urine marking & scent marking. This will establish their territories as well as data on wolf predation.

Even to the experienced tracker, it is very hard to distinguish between a wolf paw print & a paw print of an Alaskan Malamute. The easiest way to differentiate a wolf trail from a domestic dog is that wolves generally travel in single file & have a definite purpose to where they are going. Domestic dogs tend to wander all around with little purpose to their travel.

The front paw of northern gray wolves measure 4-51/4 inches in length & 3-41/8 inches wide. Wolves lope where the rear paw print lands in the same spot as the front paw print. Dogs are not able to do this.

My Wolf Tracking

In the North Vancouver Island area, I have been tracking wolves for about one year. I am trying to establish a rough inventory of these wolves as MOE has no accurate count & my count will likely be the most accurate.

On the island that I reside on, there used to be a pack of 12 wolves. Some were trapped & executed, puppies were killed so now I am aware of only one wolf on the island. I hike on the beaches & logging roads every day with Meshach & Tundra. We find (they find it first) wolf scat, deer carcasses & urine marking, but I have not seen a wolf on the island. Except for the wolf that visited Meshach & Tundra at the fence on our property.

About 1 year ago late at night, I heard Tundra & Meshach get quite agitated. I went to investigate & on the driveway near our garage stood a black wolf. I could see it quite well with the flashlight & the street light which is very close. The wolf (I could not tell which gender) observed me for 4-5 seconds & then crossed the road & jumped into the bushes.

On our walks on the island, Tundra & Meshach have located wolf scat & in early December 2009, we came upon a freshly killed deer. The rib cage was intact with small remnants of meat on the ribs & the skull was 15 feet away. The deer was probably killed 4-5 days previous. It could have been a cougar who killed it but within a 1KM radius of the deer kill, I observed wolf scat containing deer fur & bones a couple of weeks after locating the deer. It therefore was very likely a wolf kill.

On North Vancouver Island, we have not been as successful. We have spotted wolf scat but no signs of deer kills.

I am in the process of developing a network of individuals who work in the bush to record any sightings of wolves, hearing them howl, discover any wolf scat or deer kills. I will record this on my Excel spreadsheet & then start to develop an inventory & rough territories.

My quest continues!

Tundra & Meshach

For December, January & February we will be conducting our wolf tracking. In March, I will start up the school visits & have a couple in the works. I am also preparing for the summer visitors who come to see Tundra & Meshach. That activity allows me to fund my school visits.

Books & Websites on Wolf Tracking

I am currently reading Yellowstone Wolves, In the Wild by James C. Halfpenny which contains many pictures of the Yellowstone wolves that he tracks. The pictures are beautiful & they are all of wild wolves. Many calendars & other pictures of wolves are captive wolves because it is very unlikely you will see a wild wolf let alone have the time to get a picture of it. Yellowstone is the best place to observe & photograph wolves. It has spawned a very profitable industry in Yellowstone.

Dr. James Halfpenny does tours & workshops on Yellowstone wolves. You can obtain more info on his website, www.tracknature.com

Wolf Quotes

Thru my many readings of books & articles on wolves, I have kept the memorable quotes of wolves. I thought I would share them with you to begin the new year.

"I have learned of wolves whose master trait was wisdom. I have met many a wolf whose overwhelmimg motive was the love of its little ones."
Ernest Thompson Seton

"No one can deceive the eyes of a wolf. They always know."
R. D. Lawrence, Wolf Biologist

"Only a mountain has lived long enough to listen objectively to the howl of a wolf."
Aldo Leopold

"Wolves are not our brothers; they are not our subordinates, either. They are another nation, caught up just like us in the complex web of time & life."
Henry Beston

"The wolf is neither man's competitor nor his enemy. He is a fellow creature with whom the earth must be shared." L. David Mech, Wolf Biologist

"We have doomed the Wolf not for what it is, but for what we have deliberately & mistakenly perceived it to be.. the mythologized epitome of a savage, ruthless killer.. which is, in reality no more than a reflexed images of ourselves."
Farley Mowat

"Throughout the centuries we have projected on to the wolf the qualities we most despise & fear in ourselves." Barry Lopez

"There are, of course, several things in Ontario that are more dangerous than wolves. For instance, the step-ladder." J.W. Curran, The Canadian Wildlife Almanac 1981

"The caribou feeds the wolf, but it is the wolf who keeps the caribou strong."
Inuit Proverb

"The wolf is kept fed by its feet." Russian Proverb

"You may feed the wolf as much as you like. He will always glance towards the forest."
Russian Proverb

"For the strength of the Pack is the Wolf, and the strength of the Wolf is the Pack."
Rudyard Kipling

Tundra & Meshach

They both spent a leisurely holiday season going for long walks and enjoying many treats. Our son, Michael spent the holidays with us & he helped us raise Meshach when he was a very young pup. It was quite a treat to see Meshach remember Michael so well & instantly greet him like a lost member of the pack. Tundra only met Michael when she was three weeks old with barely her eyes open. Tundra, upon seeing the affection Meshach was bestowing on Michael, greeted Michael with the same enthusiasm.

We will begin our school trips in March once the roads are in better shape.

This is a brief newsletter but I would like to wish you all a Happy New Year for 2010 & hopefully we can get some more protection for canis lupus this year.